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Taos County approves consolidation of two volunteer districts into Fire District 1
Summary
Commissioners approved a resolution consolidating the Garcia and Maria volunteer departments into Taos County Fire District 1 to improve response coordination and training; funding and ISO impacts were discussed.
The Taos County Commission voted to consolidate the Garcia and Maria volunteer fire departments into Taos County Fire District 1, a change officials said will improve response times and allow joint training.
Michael Gorbachev (presenting for the fire district) said both chiefs support the consolidation and that combined training will let districts identify strengths and weaknesses. Staff explained that, for the current fiscal year, existing funding for the two districts will remain separate to meet accounting and state reporting requirements; the districts will be combined for budgeting and an ISO inspection beginning next fiscal year.
Officials said consolidation could change the district’s ISO rating from an ISO 9 to an ISO 5 or possibly ISO 4, which could increase funding for the district by an estimated “around $200,000 to $300,000” in future years if the lower rating is achieved.
Commissioners moved, seconded and approved the resolution on roll-call vote.
